Saturday, October 3, 2015

Gilt City Warehouse Sale Review - Fall 2015

On Friday night, I had a VIP pass to enter the Gilt City Warehouse Sale at The Altman Building. This allowed me to enter from 7-9pm on Friday night, in the very first group of shoppers to see the sale. Despite showing up promptly at 7pm for a time slot that was only supposed to have a very select group (a few advance tickets and a lot of industry contacts), I still had to wait in line outside in the rain for about 20 minutes before I could get into the sale.

Once I entered the staff was very friendly though. They checked my name, handed me a big recyclable shopping bag, and waved me through. I was able to get through pretty quickly by wearing a sweatshirt instead of a coat and by bringing a small clutch with me instead of a purse. Otherwise, I would have had to wait in the coat check line on the way in and on the way out. This is a good tip if you want to get through as quickly as possible.

A few brands had booths set up and were offering discounts, product, and refreshments for shoppers. My favorites were Argo Tea and Skinnygirl. Be sure to try the Skinnygirl Cucumber Vodka with Bloody Mary Mix and the Skinnygirl Moscato while you're shopping - both were excellent and I plan on purchasing them in the future! Other booths included Justin's Almond Butter, Pretzel Crisps, Handy, a bottled water, a book promotion, and a jewelry brand.

The womenswear section was about 8 racks deep and 2 racks wide. The racks toward the front on either side were XS and the sizes increased up to the back, where they had size L and just a handful of XL items. The largest collection of attractive items were in the Extra Small and Small sections. The total number of items on offer in the womenswear section felt pretty similar to the Rent the Runway sample sales I've been to in the past at 260 Sample Sales, to give you an idea.

The menswear section just to the right of womenswear had some of the most attractive stuff in the whole sale. It was much smaller than womenswear but still a significant size. Of those in the crowd tonight, I would say only about 5-10% were men. So, if you're a fashionable man or you're stuck tagging along with your girlfriend, you're in luck! There are lots of nice coats and suits to be had.

The photo above should give you a feel for what the handbag section looked like downstairs. It was just a big pile on two round tables. The tables themselves weren't all that big, so really what you see in the photo is all that there is. I'm such a handbag person, but to be honest I wasn't even tempted by the selection. The only bags that remotely excited me were a patterned Rebecca Minkoff for $115 and a wicker Kate Spade clutch for $105. I've included photos of both below. Even those didn't really seem worth it though, as I've seen some more attractive offers at other sample sales and online. I don't think Gilt considered this section to be their strong suit.

You might be in luck, however, if you are searching for some luxurious new bed linens. Although crammed in a dark corner downstairs, there was a pretty large selection of bedding including quite a few things from the W Hotels collection. The other departments downstairs were: home (looked like a yard sale really, except a KitchenAid mixer for around $200), jewelry (no notable brands, all looked cheap), belts/scarves/misc, sunglasses, children's, and shoes. None of those sections were very large at all except the shoes section. That seemed to be the only one that anyone took any interest in really...though who wouldn't want a Moncler puffer coat for their little one at only $200?

This is one of three pairs of Karen Walker sunglasses I saw in the whole sale.

Temperley Dress $759.00

($2,175.00 RRP)

Valentino Wedding Dress approximately $3,000

Kate Spade Clutch $105.00

($348.00 RRP)

This is one of three Kate Spade items I saw in the whole sale.

Since I didn't come in with a $2,000 budget, the Temperley and Valentino items were still unfortunately out of my price range. Admittedly, I didn't see a whole lot that I loved for under $500. So, I didn't walk away with much. I was tempted by a few things above, but ultimately decided the best value seemed to be all the Torn by Ronny Kobo items. I ended up purchasing a Gamma Dress for $69.00 ($398.00 RRP). It's a really great quality, flattering dress, so that was definitely a great deal.

I was provided with a VIP entry pass for free from a GILT staff member.

While my admission fee was covered, all product purchases were my own expense.